Hawk Watch Monday November 15, 2010

Dense fog and raptor counting do not go well together. Suffice it to say that there was absurdly dense fog for the first six hours of daylight today. In fact, the view of the Lighthouse from the other side of the Parking Lot was this:

The excellent view of the Lighthouse this morning at CMPSP.

As a result there were almost no migratory raptors counted. As a matter of fact, the entire day was one of the quietest I have ever spent at the State Park, as there were barely even Passerines of any type heard vocalizing for the first few hours. SE Winds and rain tomorrow shouldn't make for all that much of a better day, but hopefully we at least have the opportunity to see what's around.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP (CMPSP)
Observation date: 11/15/10
Notes: Extreme fog. SE Winds later in the day, but calm early.
Number of species: 59

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail X
Green-winged Teal X
Ring-necked Duck X
Black Scoter 1
Hooded Merganser 6
Ruddy Duck X
Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 22
Great Egret 2
Black Vulture 14
Turkey Vulture 26
Northern Harrier 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Sanderling 31
Laughing Gull 10
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern 3
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 35
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow 12
Tufted Titmouse 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 8
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird 10
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling X
American Pipit 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 10
Palm Warbler (Western) 3
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 8
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Baltimore Oriole 2
House Finch X
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 15, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               14            225            401
Turkey Vulture              26           1095           2185
Osprey                       0             34           4564
Bald Eagle                   0             65            474
Northern Harrier             4            658           2289
Sharp-shinned Hawk           2           1834          19641
Cooper's Hawk                0            348           4033
Northern Goshawk             0             16             18
Red-shouldered Hawk          0            240            354
Broad-winged Hawk            0             14           1221
Red-tailed Hawk              0           1013           1595
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0             17             25
American Kestrel             0             74           5635
Merlin                       0             63           2236
Peregrine Falcon             0             22           1391
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              0

Total:                      46           5718          46063
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:45:00
Observation end   time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8.25 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:       

Weather:
Complete Fog and less than 100 meters visibility for 6 hours with almost no
wind. Then  SE wind and variable Fog. Sky to the north cleared enough to
see past the treeline just twice.

Raptor Observations:
Lucy, the Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk was perched over Lighthouse Pond and
then out by the Yellow/Blue Trails. A separate Red-tailed Hawk chased a
Ring-billed Gull through the fog around the Parking Lot.

Non-raptor Observations:
Single Monarch Butterfly.

Predictions:
SE Winds and Rain. Few raptors.